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Monday, August 2, 2010

"A Shaft of Light" by A Hendricks

Silence filled the dense air. Time slowed. I felt my heartbeat in my ears. Across the room I could see nothing. Darkness. Emptiness. The likes of which no human can imagine. I had been here for so long, I reeked of it. Years of decay and neglect. Incomprehensible pain and suffering. Torment beyond recognition. Before I laughed; now I cry. Prison is horror and I its victim.

I sit in a corner. It is uncomfortable. It is my home. My life was destroyed long ago. Nothing can take away the misery. My family was my only source of joy. My children gifts from Heaven. I loved them more than life itself.

Governments, police, enforcers... I was once one of them. Now I despise them. They cause me this life. I live in solitary because of them. I lost my way, my family and my life because of them.

I am old and weak. A remnant of a lost race. I cannot walk. My hands bleed. My feet rot. My soul is dead.

I once believed in God. He used to love me. I used to pray and speak to him. He betrayed me. He allowed them to take my family. They raped my wife and slit her throat. They dismembered my children and burnt them on stakes. They broke my bones and left me to die.

As I sit, I stare into the darkness. It speaks to me. Tells me of my family: how they miss me. I cannot take it any longer. For twenty years I sat in this spot. Every night the darkness torments me. I am helpless and weak. It has developed a hold on me.

The people I killed haunt me. I see their faces. They stare at me in pity. They pity the old man waiting to die. All I wish is to be free of this place. To be free of anxiety. To be free of the torment of my mind.

As I stare into the darkness, a voice beckons me. I see a pair of familiar eyes in the darkness -a familiar nose and smile. I must be dreaming. I am not. My son speaks to me and commands me to stand. I do. He tells me it's all over. He says I am free. I am told to look up. A powerful voice speaks to me. I see a bright shaft of white light. It consumes me, yet I cannot feel it.The light lifts a part of me I have not known for a very long time. That part leaves me. I see it rise and become lost in the light.

As the light fades I feel empty. More than ever. My soul is gone. It has been taken. I have no memory, but I do not care. I am very tired. As I close my eyes I breathe in the cold, and as I exhale, I know that that breath is my last.

Grade 11 Book Review of the Month

"To Kill A Mockingbird" by H Lee

Jem and Scout live with their widowed father, Atticus, in the small, predominantly white town of Maycomb.

One summer the children meet a little boy named Dill and play on the dangerous property of Boo Radley. They are shot at but constantly find themselves saved by the mysterious Boo who inhabits the house.

At the same time Atticus, who is a lawyer, takes the case of a black man accused of raping a young white woman. As the case unfolds the family is discriminated against and the although the man is proven innocent, he is jailed and the woman's shamed father vows revenge.

The story is interesting and the themes compelling. A mature read.
-I KASSELMAN

Book Review

Water for Elephants

Grade 10 Book Review of the week

"Water for Elephants" by S Gruen

Jacob's parents die and he jumps a train to join the circus a week before he graduates. Becoming the circus vet, Jacob spends time with the animals and people of the traveling show.

He falls in love with the animal trainer's wife, with tragic results.

Written as a memoir the novel is slightly predictable but very beautiful.

Now a major motion picture.

-Y AMIN

Book Review

Chasing Redbird

Just another great novel for Grade 10

"Chasing Redbird" by S Creech

Set in the outskirts of Bybanks and stretching along Chocton, Zinny uncovers an overgrown pathway at the back of her house and a map indicating a trail from Bybanks to Chocton.

Zinny finds answers to her problems on the trail. She feels guilty about the death of her cousin, Rose, who caught whooping cough from Zinny when they were both four. When Zinny's aunt, Jessie, dies she feels as if she is losing herself.

She struggles to bloom in the midst of three noisy brothers and three confident overbearing sisters who constantly compete for attention.

Along with all of this, Jake Boone is back in town.

A captivating and intriguing read.

-N SMITH

Book Review

The Alchemist

Grade 9 Book Review of the Week

"The Alchemist" by P Coelho

Set in Andalusia and the North African desert, Santiago -a treasure-hunter- and an alchemist, crystal merchant, Englishman and camel driver's paths cross.

Santiago is a shepherd with a recurring dream: he goes to a gypsy who tells him to go to the pyramids where he will find his dreamed of treasure.

As Santiago follows his dream he learns from the alchemist about the Soul of the World, how to listen to his heart and how to speak with the winds and the sun.

The novel is life-changing and gripping.
-J NICOL

Book Review

Stealing Heaven

Just another great novel from the Grade 9s

"Stealing Heaven" by E Scott

Danielle and her mom travel around the country breaking into houses and then fleeing to safety. At the moment their story starts they are living in a pretty holiday town called Heaven.

Danielle is 18 years old, very cautious and struggling to trust those around her. Her 30-something mum is very beautiful but cold-hearted.

The pair move to Heaven where they meet Allison and Greg -but plan to break in to Allison's house. But Danielle is unhappy with her life as a thief, moving around, never having anything that she can count on or call her own. Until she falls in love with Greg.

A beautifully written love story with surprising twists in the plot.
-L PEROLD

Book Review

Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero

Grade 8 Book Review of the week

"Heroes of Olympus" by Rock Riordon

This book is set in Camp Half-Blood in Long Island, New York in the Underworld where Hades rules.

Jason, Son of Zeus, finds himself in Camp Half-Blood with no memory of how he got there. he is sent on a quest with three heroes: Jason, Leo and Piper who are seeking help from the gods of the four winds.

In the mean time, the mother of all Titans, Gaia, is awakening and with her all the dreaded, most vicious monsters. She wants to control the world once more and destroy the gods and demi-gods.

The series is entirely captivating and every book is difficult to put down.
-S VD HEEVER

The Guardian Fiction Prize

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